Straus expected to remain speaker, despite challenges to some key lieutenants
By Tim Eaton
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Updated: 9:55 p.m. Sunday, May 27, 2012
Published: 8:40 p.m. Sunday, May 27, 2012
A combination of factors is threatening the political careers of several leaders in the Texas House, but even if a half-dozen or so Republican committee leaders lose their primary re-election bids, the makeup of the House isn’t expected to change dramatically, and Speaker Joe Straus is anticipated to remain in control.
One of Straus’ most trusted allies, Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, said he expects most of the incumbents to win re-election and that the speaker isn’t going to go anywhere. “He has across-the-board support,” Hunter said. “He still has support that goes beyond his chairmen.”
Straus demonstrated his wide appeal last session, when he fended off a challenge to his leadership position from Rep. Ken Paxton, a conservative Republican from McKinney. Straus did it by building a coalition of Republicans and Democrats, a move that infuriated some conservative members and interest groups who saw no need to work with Democrats because Republicans had a two-thirds majority in the 150-member House.
The most conservative members of the House wanted Straus to drive their agenda and not soften positions on immigration, budget cutting and a host of social issues. Those are the very issues that are cropping up in various House primaries around the state.
But Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University, said the Republican caucus has been generally happy with Straus. They have seemed to prefer his leadership style to that of his predecessor because he tends to give members more latitude, Jillson said.
Straus faces a primary opponent in his re-election, and some of his team facing difficult races are Rep. Vicki Truitt, chairwoman of the Pensions, Investments and Financial Services Committee; Rep. Sid Miller, chairman of the Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee and author of the 2011 pre-abortion sonogram bill; Rep. Rob Eissler, chairman of the Public Education Committee; Rep. Chuck Hopson, chairman of the General Investigating and Ethics Committee; and Rep. Mike “Tuffy” Hamilton, chairman of the Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee.
Truitt, R-Keller, might be the most vulnerable in all of Straus’ leadership team. Truitt has been embroiled in a fight against Empower Texans, a group controlled by Straus foe Michael Quinn Sullivan. Truitt, along with Rep. Jim Keffer, R-Eastland, filed a complaint with the Texas Ethics Commission, charging that Sullivan failed to register as a lobbyist and that his group has not filed the required campaign finance paperwork. Sullivan has maintained that he is not a lobbyist.
Truitt’s challenger, Southlake businessman Giovanni Capriglione, is a tea party-backed candidate who also has the support of Sullivan’s group and others like it.
Also in a hard race, Eissler, R-The Woodlands, is facing Also in a hard race, Eissler, R-The Woodlands, is facing a challenge from Steve Toth, who runs swimming pool companies. Toth wants to cut bureaucrats in the public education system. But mostly, he opposes Straus’ leadership and has criticized Eissler for backing the speaker, according to his website. Like Truitt’s challenger, Toth also has the backing of Empower Texans and various tea party groups.
Miller, R-Stephenville, could be headed for a runoff. He’s pitted against two challengers: former Glen Rose school board member Mike Jones and J.D. Sheffield, a medical doctor from Gatesville who is facing ethics charges of improperly reporting campaign finances.
With a reputation as a hard-working campaigner, Hopson, R- Jacksonville, has always found ways to win. But this year could be different, as he is being challenged in East Texas by Nacogdoches’ Travis Clardy, who is backed by Empower Texans, and Tony Sevilla of Alto, who is calling for tougher immigration laws and other standard Republican issues.
In one of the highest profile challenges to a Straus-appointed chairman, Hamilton, R-Mauriceville, was placed in the same district as state Rep. James White, R-Hillister, when lawmakers redrew district boundaries during the 2011 redistricting process. White, a tea party favorite, has the backing of Gov. Rick Perry and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.
The race got especially contentious when Hamilton released documents that showed White resigned from a school district in Livingston after being placed on administrative leave for making sexually oriented comments to students.
In once instance, White tried to make “some sort of economic point by using the comparison of bodily fluids being swapped during sexual relations,” according to a memo written by the Livingston school district human resources director.
White responded by saying that Hamilton attempted to smear him.
In addition to the struggle for control of the Republican Party’s direction in the House, Straus’ chief lieutenants are hampered by logistical concerns.
Because it’s a redistricting year, many members are running in newly configured districts and seeking support from new constituents. Furthermore, court battles over the maps delayed the primaries by nearly three months and pushed election day into the summer, when voters may be more focused on the end of school and Memorial Day weekend plans than politics.
Straus’ office didn’t have much to say on the election contests.
“Speaker Straus is focused on winning the Republican primary in his district Tuesday and preparing for the important work that awaits the members of the next Legislature,” spokesman Jason Embry said in a statement.
